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Crumb rubber leads the way
At a time when Ireland is being hauled over the coals by the European
Union over its commitment to waste management, Crumb Rubber Ireland Ltd
is making huge strides in recycling Ireland’s waste tyre mountain.
Owners Leo Kerley and Padraig Hand could do a whole lot more if they could
lay their hands on more tyres.
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Water, water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink…. or so the
saying goes! Crumb Rubber Ireland Ltd finds itself in a similar predicament
every year; only it isn’t water that it is yearning for, rather mountains
of waste tyres.
In a country, which produces some 45,000 tonnes of waste tyres annually,
the company can only lay its hands on a paltry 10 per cent of that total.
Crumb Rubber Ireland Ltd was established and licensed in November 2003
at Mooretown, Dromiskin, Dundalk, Co. Louth to collect and recycle truck,
car and utility tyres. Remarkably, Crumb Rubber Ireland is the only company
in the country that is properly licensed to collect and recycle tyres.
The kernel of the company’s problem lies in Ireland’s lackadaisical
approach to waste management. As a result of existing legislation thousands
of tyres end up as ballast on silage pits every year. This practice, while
legal, does nothing to boost the recycling industry.
On a more sinister note, thousands of tyres surreptitiously end up dumped
in illegal landfill sites because of a lack of enforcement. Clandestine
collections are all too common in the “management” of waste
tyres.
However, Crumb Rubber still manages to take some 4,500 tonnes of waste
tyres out of the waste stream every year. The company collects tyres from
reputable tyre dealers all over the country, who are anxious to play their
part in protecting the country’s increasingly fragile environment.
“We are talking about the dealers who are charging their customers
to have their old tyres recycled. We collect from dealers all over the
country. They take their recycling responsibilities seriously,” Leo
explained.
Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous dealers who jump on the recycling
bandwagon, and charge their customers to properly dispose of their waste
tyres, while off-loading the tyres any which way they can.
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The recycling process at Crumb Rubber begins with the tyres being sorted
into categories. “The tyres are sorted into truck, car and utility
tyres. The first stage of recycling is reuse, so we sort out the casings
that can go back into the system for re-treading or re-capping. Anything
that isn’t suitable goes through the shredder,” he elaborated.
Following the shredding process two bi-products are produced – rubber
crumb and steel. “The steel is sent to Hammond Lane in Dublin for
recycling, while the rubber chip or crumb can be used for various applications,”
he affirmed.
The crumb rubber produced from car and utility tyres has a ready market
in equestrian circles. “It is primarily used for horse gallops and
ménages, lunging rings and dressage rings,” he affirmed.
The rubber produced from truck tyres can also be used for a myriad of
applications. Leo continued: “Truck rubber is pure rubber. It can
be used in landscaping as a substitute for bark mulch and is very effective.
Indeed, it has a number of advantages of bark mulch. It is inert and therefore
doesn’t rot. Therefore nothing will grow on it.”
Shredded finely, truck rubber chips can also be used as “infill”
under synthetic grass. It can also be “poured in place”. Leo
explained: “You just mix it with resin and trowel it into place.
It certain places it can be substituted for paving brick. Mountjoy Square
in Dublin, would be one location where it has been used very successfully.
It can also be used in tennis courts and laid in running tracks as a base
coat.”
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Theresa
McDonnell, administration
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The rubber chip from truck tyres is also highly suitable for injection
moulding, according to Leo. “It could be used to produce paving bricks
and patio slabs, playground mats, park benches, bollards and road ramps.
We are looking into the possibility of getting into manufacturing in the
future,” he confirmed.
With an eye to the future the company is researching the possibility of
manufacturing rubber-paving bricks. “They are more comfortable to
walk on, and there is less chance of injury, if you fall on them, because
they are made of rubber,” Leo confirmed.
Crumb Rubber Ireland’s recycling facility has the capacity to recycle
1,000 car tyre equivalents every hour. “If we were running 24 hours
five days a week, 50 weeks of the year, we could recycle more than 5 million
tyres every year. We could recycle all the waste tyres produced in the
country every year,” he opined.
Worldwide, the tyre recycling industry is sustained through what is known
in the trade as a “gate fee”. “We charge a fee to collect
the tyres. It is a worldwide phenomenon. The end product is saleable,
but it doesn’t generate that much revenue, so we need the gate fee
to survive,” he revealed.
To that end the company charges E2 to collect and recycle car, van and
jeep tyres, and E8 for truck tyres. The “gate fee” covers collection
costs, and makes an important contribution to overall running costs of
the company.”
He continued: “If we had the volumes coming in the gate and could
command a better gate fee, the possibilities are endless. We could get
involved in manufacturing and branch into a number of related areas.”
In many respects Crumb Rubber Ireland isn’t competing on a level
playing pitch. We cannot compete with collectors who have agricultural
land at their disposal.
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Recycled
rubber is inert and an ideal substitute for bark
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Public apathy also contributes to the company’s plight, according
to Leo. “The public should ask, where the tyres are going after they
pay the disposal charge. If they are not going for recycling they should
refuse to pay the disposal charge. We are the only company in the country
licensed to recycle tyres,” he opined.
A similar indifference plagues the tyre sector. “Tyre dealers should
be welcoming us with open arms, because we are providing a legitimate
method of disposing of their waste. It doesn’t cost them anything
because the cost is borne by the customer,” Leo added.
In that light the company offers a nationwide collection service utilising
a small fleet of rigid trucks. “We would have four trucks on the
road that are manned by a driver and a helper. They have scheduled routes
all over the country. The routes are growing all the time and we offer
a fantastic service,” he remarked.
Less than two years after the company’s inception, Crumb Rubber Ireland
now employs a fulltime staff of 15. “We could employ upwards on 50
people if we could get 50 per cent of the waste tyres produced in the
country. That is the challenge for us,” Leo revealed.
As local authorities around the country begin to tighten the noose on
illegal operators, more and more waste tyres will be removed from the
waste stream. “The local authorities are gradually getting on top
of the problem. Progress has been painstakingly slow, but we are moving
in the right direction,” he concluded.
Company Profile:
Crumb Rubber Ireland Ltd
Address: Mooretown, Dromiskin,
Dundalk, Co. Louth.
Owners: Leo Kerley & Padraig Hand
Speciality: Tyre recyclers
Telephone: 0429382611
Fax:042 9382001
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